Storm Trooper
by Kandisys
Summary: A collection of fluff and stories about the planet Mota I, the Imperial Guard regiment drawn from it, and the city Reach.
1. Information on Mota I

Mota I Warhammer 40k fanfic & fluff Written by Psignorian

Note: This information page is rated G, while the stories may rate as high as R, though on average stand at PG-13.

Six thousand light years from the edge of the Damocles Gulf lies a system of three planets circling a massive, incandescent blue star, Mota. The outer two are gas giants, just barely sub-jovian, each sporting a set of rings almost as impressive as those of Saturn,  
remains of shattered moons and planets destroyed in the collision of two super-jovian giants that gave birth to the star. Much closer in lies a rocky planet nearly three times the size of Terra, though devoid of a breathable atmosphere on the surface. Unfortunate for this planet, a wave of fire sweeps across the surface as it rotates, its proximity to the sun enough to flash-boil the lighter elements. Gradually cooling as it rotates into night, the planet's craggy surface developed over billions of cycles of deposits from the tidal wave of fire.

An Adeptus Mechanicus Explorator vessel, documenting the system, initially marked the planet as uninhabitable, suitable only for limited mining operations during the night. A sensor sweep revealed vast underground caverns, some up to a mile in height from floor to ceiling, as well as giant crystals sinking miles into the ground that proved to be excellent conductors of heat and light, warming the upper surface caves, as well as providing illumination. Following a tunnel leading underground, they discovered the presence of potable water, as well as a surprising degree of flora and fauna in the lower caverns, the latter of which were deemed unintelligent. In the caverns below the level of those crystal-lit and warmed, oceans of water flowing through cave systems filled some collapsed tunnel networks. The rest of the caves not filled with water were consderably smaller, though these contained odd varieties of lichen and fungi that bioluminesced in a variety, filling them with enough light to see clearly in. Past this layer, the caverns grew deathly cool, prompting the Adeptus Mechanicus to pull back up to the surface.

Information gathering complete, the Explorators marked the planet as a suitable colony world, preferably a penal colony due to the improbability of escape. A workforce of convicts and soldiers arrived one thousand years later, building a sealable entrance able to survive the hellish fire and protect the base within. For the next two thousand years, the planet was used only as a prison, the sole inhabitants being the planetary guard and convicts. Following this,  
the population gradually changed, regular civilians coming to occupy the planet's caverns,  
seeing it as a safe haven against attackers.

Mota I was, at one point, a prison planet. In many ways, it still is, as though the planet has seemingly innumerable caverns and tunnels one may escape into, the only way off of the planet is during the part of the planet's rotation when the faces of the planet where the two main spaceports are located are useable. Other, minor ports to the surface are also accessable, though due to the planet's rotation and orbit, not nearly as consistently. The average year for the planet is equal to about two hundred twenty six Terran days long, while the day is approximately thirty one terran hours long. The similarity of Mota I to Terra means that a majority of the planet experiences approximately thirty one fire waves a year, while the poles are only exposed to the storms(though continuous) once each, thus being where the continuously operating spaceports are.

-The Head Hunters-  
When Mota was a prison planet, it was necessary to maintain a highly trained force to defend the vital facilities such as spaceports from the prisoners, as well as fend off the various creatures living in the deeper caverns, especially near the water pumping stations. The prisoners were generally self-governed, with officials elected from their ranks and approved by the Wardens. Occasionally, though, dissention occured. When a prisoner rebellion was uncovered, the highly trained soldiers known as the Head Hunters were deployed. Essentially SWAT troopers, the Head Hunters could fight in any terrain that presented itself on Mota I in order to quell the uprisings in a deadly efficient manner. These soldiers were also tasked with hunting down escaped criminals, often in the lower levels. Despite the change in status of the planet to a regular colony, the Head Hunters remain, now mainly tasked with destroying dangerous infestations of flora and fauna, though they are still responsible for hunting down criminals that escape from the prison facilities that still exist. After just a few missions into the deep caverns, their armor becomes infested with a coating of lichen, causing the Head Hunters to glow dimly if they do not keep their armor clean...which, of course, isn't the case. However, the best cleansing job will not remove all of the fungus, which causes veterans to glow dimly in the dark...though they see this as more of a badge of honor. The Head Hunters are now trained as Imperial Guard Storm Troopers, and fill this function as part of the planetary tithe. 


	2. Head Hunters Prologue

Help...help me... Areth opened his eyes, roused from sleep by the voice. He sat up, glancing around his dark room. "Hello?" he asked, reaching for the light panel above his bedstand.

The room filled with a soft blue light as the panel lit under his touch, three others also illuminating. "Who...who is there?" Areth called out, reaching under his pillow to draw a shortened laspistol. At that moment, the light panels sputtered and died, plunging the room back into darkness.

"Fraggin' power system...mechanicus can't even' keep it runnin' right..." he mumbled as he keyed a small tactical light attached under the barrel, only for it to remain unlit. As he fumbled with the weapon, he became aware of a dim red gleam under his door. Holding the pistol at the ready, he slowly approached the door, stretching out one hand to slowly twist the handle. In a quick move, he threw the door open, stepping to one side of the door to present a smaller target...

No attack came. Cautiously, Areth stepped out into the hall, once again fumbling with the light toggle on his pistol, again to no avail. The dim glow appeared to be coming from outside...which didn't make any sense, as it was currently night, and thus the colossus that provided the city with light and heat couldn't be producing its customary reddish orange glow.

Help me...please...

The whispery voice seemed to echo in Areth's head, and his heart began to thump hard against his ribs. "Who are you? What do you want?!" Getting no answer, he walked to the door to his quarters, then keyed the door.

Stepping out, he turned one way, then the other, laspistol following his eyes. There was no-one on the walkway of the block his quarters resided in. Stepping over to the edge of the perforated metal planking, he leaned slightly over the rail, looking out over the cavern city. Lights down at the civil center and the surrounding buildings two kilometers away were the only he could see, aside from those adorning the transit system and the giant elevator to the surface, along with the dim illumination along the habitation blocks.

Please...help me...

His head whipped up, eyes wide, scanning down the catwalk. Turning quickly, he caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure faintly haloed in a dim red glow turn and dash away, disappearing around a corner. Areth launched into a dead run after him. "Halt! Police!" he yelled.

Rounding the corner, he caught a glimpse of the runner darting across a bridge between two catwalks. Too far away to fire an effective shot, Areth ran after the dark figure, who disappeared down another alleyway. Approaching the alleyway, Areth squinted, trying to see some sign of the perpetrator, now officially a criminal for it was a crime to run from an interior guard police officer who gave an order to cease and desist. The lighting in the alley was inactive, so Areth, using a tactic out of the interior guard handbook, fired his pistol at the wall, creating a molten, incandescent spot on the permacrete. An eerie orange-red glow illuminated the alley, revealing a person crouched against the wall. Ahah, the perp decided to stop running, and it wasn't even a dead end. It still wouldn't get him out of a criminal charge. "Stand up and put your hands behind your head...now!" Areth barked at the figure.

The shadowy figure slowly raised its head. Areth was astonished to see red eyes glowing in the darkness, staring at him. The figure stood, and stretched its hands toward him, appearing clawed in the shadows. "Help me..."

Areth staggered back a few steps. "Chaos scum...!" Raising his laspistol, he began to depress the firing stud...to no result. No bright flash came from the muzzle, no incandescent red beam lanced forward to pierce the fiend approaching from the darkness. Areth tried again, and again to no avail. He stumbled backwards out of the alley, turning to run screaming and shouting over the bridge as the dark figure with glowing red eyes approached, voice whispering pleadingly.

Sargeant Areth of the Reach Interior Guard Police burst from his quarters after firing several shots, screaming as he slammed into the guardrail and fell five floors to his death on the courtyard below. 


End file.
